The last Gallardo has left the building.

Lamborghini has ended pro-duction of the Gallardo, after a 10-year run.

The last one rolled off the line at Lamborghini

factory in Sant’ Agata Bolognese, Italy, early last week. The Gallardo, sometimes referred to as “the affordable Lambo” or “the smaller bull,” was the best-selling Lamborghini ever.

I borrowed the first one in Denver from Dave Dunn at Subaru West and drove it around the hills of Golden and up Lookout Mountain in November 2003. It was a high-performance two-seater with all-wheel drive, priced at $169,500, while the larger Lamborghini Murcielago was going for $280,000.

“The Gallardo clocks 3.9 sec-onds from 0 to 60 and has top speed of 190 miles per hour,” I wrote. “Huge 17-inch disc brakes match up to the tremendous power, and a tendency toward slight understeer is probably a blessing for most drivers. It stands only 45 inches high, with a 500-horsepower V-10 engine.”

The final model off the line

was a Gallardo LP 570-4 Spyder and is destined for a private collector.

Car, truck sales strong in Colorado

Sales of new cars and trucks continued to climb in Colorado in October, and for the first 10 months of the year have increased by 12 percent over a year ago.

Light trucks, including SUVs, have increased 17.3 percent for the year and cars gained 5.1 per-cent, according to the Colorado Auto Outlook Report released by the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association.

Biggest gains by individual makes thus far this year are 48.2 percent by Dodge, 33.6 percent for Ram, 31.4 percent for Porsche and 30.4 percent for BMW.

“The average age of cars and trucks is at a record high and consumers are replacing many of them,”: said Tim Jackson, president of the auto dealers association. “Also, in October, consumers took advantage of factory incentives and low inter-est rates.”

Three-day car show ends at 6 p.m. today

The 17th annual Rocky Mountain Auto Show, the Crème

de la Chrome of the Rockies, will end a three-day run today at the Colorado Convention Center. Doors will remain open until 6 p.m. The show is sponsored by Greybeard Promotions and O’Reilly Auto Parts.

Lamborghini “small bull” mixed beauty and brawn

At right: The just-introduced 2004 Gallardo atop Lookout Mountain in November 2003. PHOTO BY BUD WELLS

GALLARDO ENDS RUN:

The final Gallardo leaves the line at Lamborghini factory in Italy. COURTESY OF LAMBORGHINI